mr_drew

Andrew
2003-12-23 22:31:50 (UTC)

Christmas Shopping

I went shopping in Cardiff with Amy most of yesterday. I
was still pretty knackered after Prague because I'd still
not really caught up on sleep, but I needed to go and do
Christmas shopping.

I was up at half past seven and cursing to myself while I
shivered in the train station at 9am. The train soon came
and I was accompanied on my table by a woman who fell
asleep with a double chin that I thought would crush her
chest, rendering her unable to breath as she did. She was
still breathing when I left the train.

Behind my was a young man who kept must've asked his
friend whether himself and his friend lived on Earth about
fifty times.

"Paul, do we live on Earth?"
"I do, Dave. You don't."
"What do you mean?! I don't believe it! I don't live on
Earth! You're kidding me!"

I was close to tears when he began coughing/spluttering
and I could see spatters of phlegm forming on the window
out of the
corner or my eye.

I met Amy in the train station at Cardiff... and so
shopping commenced. For the next good few hours we
visited shop after shop to buy stuff. I realised that
buying four books with a combined weight which extended my
arms to the length of an orangutan, right at the
beginning, was a very costly idea. Every time we stopped
to look at something I'd drop them on the floor and breath
a sigh of relief, only to begin groaning again when I
realised that I had to pick them up again.

We stopped for coffee three times, (once after visiting
just two shops after the last coffee). We also went for a
pub meal that I was glad to be told wouldn't be served to
us for half an hour due to how busy things were.

We left Cardiff to get home about eight in the evening and
I nearly fell asleep on the way back. On the way back to
the station, I made Amy hold all the bags and then
pretended to run off. I don't care how mean that was, my
arms have never expressed so much gratitude through
painful aching and tingling.

The most torturous part of the whole day was the sanity
destroying realisation that Amy's car was parked quite a
distance from her house in a public space, because she
hadn't updated her permit. Amy lives at house number 1 on
the street - the car was parked outside number late-
seventy something. If I didn't know that the bags would
break if I dragged them across the floor the whole way,
the whole way they would have been dragged.

Lugging the bags into Amy's car was like lifting the last
boulder on top of the podium in a World's Strongest Man
contest, and after they were in, it felt like I'd shifted
half of my body weight.

Amy drove back to my house where we sorted the shopping
out into what was hers and what was mine. She also had to
come back to pick up a suitcase full of stuff up that
she'd left when she stayed over on Saturday. We did the
sorting and then just sat about eating crap and talking
for a good few hours. Amy's cue for leaving came when I
moved from slumping in the chair with my eyes closed to
collapsing on the floor with my eyes closed. =P

Outside, we said good bye. She cried when we were
hugging, I presumed because her hair was getting wet with
the rain. Actually, it was because she said she was going
to miss me, and I didn't know how much I meant to her.
That was unbelievably sweet. Wasn't until I got inside
and thought, 'Right. Uh... bed time.' that I realised
that I'd miss her a lot too. But I'll see her in a few
days... so, y'know.

Today, I visited my grandparents and gave them their
presents, and went to work. I can't even be bothered to
type about work because it's so painfully boring to talk
about.

Here's something I was going to write about how I feel
I've changed since I was in Prague. I was going to write
about it in the last entry, but I got lazy:

I don't know whether I'd've considered myself a
considerate person before I went there. But it's weird
now. Even in the tone of my voice I can tell that I'm a
lot more aware about how others might be feeling, and a
lot more eager to gratify their own needs before my own.
I don't suppose it's the big massive favours that make it
up, but the little things. I've felt a lot better like
that, even though it means sacrificing a little bit for
myself. And I'm glad I am doing that, because I hate
being a self centered dependent. People've helped me *so*
much over the past months that it just feels refreshing to
give something back. Phil's often said that I've done a
lot for him which I've replied with in denial... and of
course he'll not go, 'Actually, And'... you're right.',
but I know it's true that there's so much more for people
I could've done that I haven't.

That's annoying.

I've coursework to do now. I think I'll be doing some of
it on Christmas Day seeming as I'm working tomorrow and
Boxing Day. Need to revise, too.

But, anyway.

Quite enjoyed writing today.

Andrew.




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